Dr. Lupo,
I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's about 19 years ago following surgery to remove a benign thyroglossal duct remnant. The ENT noted that my thyroid looked suspicious so he performed a biopsy. I did not exhibit any of the classic symptoms at that time but was told to call him at first sign. I started with the extreme fatigue about a year later and was referred to an Endo at that time. He saw me until my levels evened out and then he released me back to my PCP. In the past 19 years, I have taken Synthroid in varying amounts ranging from an all time high of .225 mg to my current dosage of .150.
Last fall, I was having extreme fatigue and weight gain in spite of regular exercise and balanced diet. I saw the Physician's Assistant in my PCP's office who ran the normal gambit of thyroid tests. TSH, Free T3, and Free T4 were normal but the antibodies were extremely high. She decided that I needed to be taking a natural thyroid hormone instead of a synthetic and put me on 1 grain of Naturethroid. In less than 2 months, my TSH jumped to 77.86. When I was tested, my PCP called me at home and changed my meds back to Synthroid on the spot. How do you feel about synthetic replacement versus natural replacement?
Any time I mention a symptom to my doctor, I feel like he honestly thinks that I am a hypochondriac so I hate to even go in and see him---other docs do the same as well. I am a reasonably healthy 50 year old woman who just wants to feel good again. I know I can if I can just convince a doctor to really listen to me.
Thanks.